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The following 8 ways to connect to yourcreativitycome fromThe Portable MFA in Creative Writing, byThe New York Writers Workshop (pp. 204-205):

1. Read a newspaper and free-write about something you find there.

2. Write a letter to an old lover. (Don’t send it.)

3. Do a physical activity you’ve never tried before.

4. Say no to plans with someone who bores the heck out of you.

5. Read one of your favorite poems aloud five times, choose one phrase from it, and use it as a springboard for free-writing.

6. Look at family photographs. Imagine the photo that was never taken. What might it have revealed? Write about it.

7. Use persona as a writing tool. Choose either a stranger you saw during the course of the day or someone you know well. Make up (or remember) a childhood event in that person’s life. Imagine how he would tell it. Write it down.

8. Write about what makes you uncomfortable.

Try this:

Challenge yourself to do at least two of the eight suggestions above (but hey, the more the merrier!). Here’s hoping it sparks some ideas for you!